Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District

The Eberhard Faber Pencil Company, which introduced America to the German method of mass-producing lead pencils, moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn after a fire destroyed its factory in 1872. It remained in Greenpoint until 1956, becoming one of Brooklyn’s most prosperous companies and employing hundreds of workers, most of whom were women. The complex, which encompasses almost the entire block, contains eight buildings, mostly designed in the German Renaissance Revival style. 98 and 100-106 West Street, the latter of which is the oldest building in the complex, were purchased in 1872. 37 Greenpoint Avenue, acquired in the 1880s, features brownstone window lintels incised with the company’s star logo, which is in keeping with the neo-Grec style popular at that time. The Art-Deco-style 47-61 Greenpoint Avenue, the newest and most prominent building in the district, features massive glazed terra-cotta pencils at the upper floors of its six stories, proudly exhibiting the building’s legacy.